The present invention relates to an input system for a computer and, more particularly, to a computer system which is capable of providing a satisfactory interface for effecting intercommunication between a computer apparatus and an operator of that apparatus.
A mouse, a keyboard, a track ball and a joystick are input devices serving as an interface between an operator, and a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated to "PC"), a work station (hereinafter abbreviated to "WS"), a computer game machine or the like. In recent years a mouse has been most commonly used input means for entering information into a PC or a WS.
When operating a PC or a WS with a mouse, an icon is clicked on by operating the mouse. An icon is a pictorial representation of a process or an instruction in the form of characters and symbols displayed on a display screen. The term "click" means specifying desired information by pushing a predetermined button on a mouse. When clicking on a desired icon, the operator moves the mouse a flat surface, such as the top surface of a desk, to move a cursor displayed on the screen of a display device to a position corresponding to the desired icon. The mouse separates the displacement into a vertical displacement and a horizontal displacement and gives signals representing the vertical displacement and the horizontal displacement to the PC or the WS. The position of the cursor on the screen changes according to the vertical and the horizontal displacement provided by the mouse.
A conventional input system employing an input device, such as a mouse, is not a perfect input system for the following reasons.
(1) Use of an input device, such as a mouse, is not ideal for making the computer apparatus recognize the operator's intention; that is, the operator's intention is transmitted indirectly through the input device, such as a mouse. Therefore, it may be safely said that the conventional input system is not a perfect man-machine interface.
(2) A space sufficient to move a mouse must be available on the desk for operating a computer apparatus, however, in most cases, papers and documents necessary during operation of the computer apparatus are spread on the desk. Therefore, the operator needs to find a space sufficient to use the mouse somewhere on the desk in an area other than that occupied by the papers and documents.
On the other hand, various PCs and WSs having an image input function have come onto the market in recent years, and some of those are provided with a video camera. It is expected that the relation between computer apparatuses, such as PCs and WSs, and video cameras will become clear. However, currently, computer apparatuses, such as PCs and WSs, merely use the output image signals of a video camera simply as image data.